Let's talk about how to buy cheap air tickets.

Strictly speaking, there is no one in this world who doesn't like cheaper prices. The word "price insensitive" is actually only because the price range of a product and service is insignificant relative to the time cost of some consumers. Whether you buy bananas, invite people to dinner or buy a villa, it's all the same. So in fact, what I want to discuss is how much money most people need to pursue the cost performance and cheaper price of a certain product or service.

The same is true for air tickets.

# The operating efficiency of aviation industry is ridiculously high.

When we make the conclusion of each simple phenomenon clear, we actually need to study some basic status quo and laws of the industry behind it, so when we look at how to buy cheap air tickets, we need to look at the actual situation of airlines.

For consumers, it is a pity that the civil aviation industry is an industry with very low competition and high operational efficiency. The main reason is that the route is the core competitiveness of an airline. The cost of routing can be zero or everything.

Because the aviation industry is closely related to national security, the opening of routes requires strong government supervision, so in addition to the funds and operational management capabilities required by ordinary enterprises, a large number of government coordination resources are needed, and there must be other countries besides their own.

For example, the top three companies in the global civil aviation industry are American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines. Theoretically, they can try their best to connect all major cities between China and the United States, and they can also connect all major cities between Japan and the United States. However, it is very helpless. It is basically impossible for China and Japan to fly domestic routes and travel from these two countries to other regions. Therefore, in fact, airlines are basically a very monopolistic business in the local market.

Because of the importance of routes, the operation of airlines is very flexible. In winter, the Sanya route in Beijing is busy, and Air China immediately starts to operate at 77W, with five flights a day. As soon as spring is over, the passenger flow will come down, and it will be changed to 32 1 immediately, and the flights will be reduced. What about these big planes? Fly to a place with many guests. Passenger flow on some routes dried up. For example, when the high-speed rail was opened, it was directly cut off and could not fly.

Such an industry with a high degree of geographical monopoly and flexible operation provides limited space for product price elasticity. This is why the Vancouver-Toronto route operated by Air Canada ranked ninth among the top ten routes in the world in 20 17 with a revenue of 520 million US dollars. Canada has a population of over 30 million. Not as large as the registered population in Beijing+Shanghai.

# The agency channel is actually indifferent to the aviation industry.

When we understand the operational nature of the aviation industry, we will draw two conclusions. 1, a state-owned airline that can go bankrupt on its own, is really because it is too mixed. 2. In the Internet age, sales channels are really unimportant to airlines.

Because before the era of e-tickets, airlines needed various channels to do some chores-passengers always had to get vouchers, write or type, and there had to be booths to complete them.

What will these channels do after the e-ticket system? The direct flights from Beijing to new york are provided by two companies: China International Airlines or United Airlines. Can these two families ride bicycles without choosing one?

Therefore, whether it is a traditional TA such as China Travel Service and China Travel Service, or an OTA such as Expedia and Ctrip, there is actually no bargaining power in front of airlines-there are so few passengers to choose from, so the website is still APP, and our airlines will come by themselves. Can users not take our plane because we don't have distribution channels? Jokes. Essentially, what can you do with OTA? Give a token agency fee, or even nothing. You can sell it or not.

Therefore, any OTA that says its air ticket is cheap is really exaggerated. However, to say more, in this industry background, Ctrip, a leading enterprise, still relies on instilling low prices and cashback to operate. Being young feels a little immoral. Indeed, these cashbacks are actually buying traffic and can be regarded as a market cost. But as an industry leader, it is still the responsibility to guide consumers correctly. This is social responsibility.

# Touch porcelain and geography knowledge

Judging from the above two points, is the resource of cheap air tickets basically gone? Simply put, the same airline and the same company are basically the same. There will be no difference in the price between the agent and the airline itself.

But if you are cheap, you can follow these two rules to buy tickets:

1, weak companies are selected for domestic routes.

Basically, many popular routes have mainstream companies and weak companies, such as Beijing and Shanghai, China Eastern Airlines and Air China. China Southern Airlines and Hainan Airlines are considered weak. But there is actually something even weaker: Xiamen Airlines. But in fact, there is not much space for domestic routes, and international routes are different.

2, the international route to find a porcelain company.

Everyone knows that touching porcelain is deliberately hurting yourself to get other benefits. In fact, Xiamen Airlines on the Beijing-Shanghai route operates according to the idea of touching porcelain. This flight is Fuzhou-Shanghai-Beijing-Shanghai-Fuzhou. The reason is that the passenger flow from Fuzhou to Shanghai is not enough to go back and forth many times, so it simply rubs the traffic on the Beijing-Shanghai route. What if?

This idea is based on the operation mode of international routes. For example, it may be cheaper for Korean Air to fly from Beijing to new york via Seoul than for Air China to fly directly from Beijing to new york, and it is also cheaper than South Korea's own Seoul new york. Why? The reason is also very simple. Anyway, the attendance rate of China guests in the Beijing-Seoul section may be lower than that of Air China, so it is better to fill in this flight in the form of connecting flight.

China Airlines transits from North American cities to Hong Kong through Taipei all the year round, but it is cheaper than going directly from North American cities to Taipei. This is also the idea of "being friendly with friends and not being slaves".

But buying a plane ticket like this requires a certain knowledge of geography. Actually, it's not too much trouble for China to pass through Turkey in Europe, but he is a little tired after passing through Hong Kong. If it is Thailand, it is really a bit difficult. If it is Singapore, even what the service is like, it is something that aviation enthusiasts will do. Singapore is far from anywhere except Australia.

So in theory, cheap air tickets are really a very personal consumption concept. It costs 4000 yuan to fly directly to 8,000 RMB economy class, and it takes 4 hours to transfer to12,000 RMB business class. In fact, even if the cost of 4000 RMB is not a problem for passengers, it is actually an option.

# Where did you get the cheap tickets in the market?

In that case, aren't there still cheap tickets on the market? Especially internationally. Where did it come from? As Young has repeatedly said recently, there will always be an information gap and gray in the market, but what we are discussing is the basic law and the stable model that can become a large enterprise. Analyze the sources of several cheap air tickets;

1, personal group

It is the travel agency that manages the wholesale price that airlines want in the name of a team. This kind of ticket generally requires consistent entry and exit, and there are strict restrictions on returning and signing. Theoretically, selling to individual customers is problematic, but there are always some loopholes in airline policies. It was this kind of ticket that Luo Yonghao and Air China competed for. Generally speaking, the fare that is obviously lower than the direct selling price is very likely to be this form. But now it is getting less and less.

2, mileage is free

This kind is more troublesome. Ctrip's fake air tickets are such tickets. Previous comments: Ctrip, always two over ten thousand, has been discussed. You can have a look if you are interested. Free mileage tickets are basically a completely gray area. It is extremely difficult to return and change the visa. Many airlines have even been hit. For example, BA and the requirement for free inquiry of British Airways mileage on Sino-Japanese routes are extremely strict, and the requirement must be that the account holder redeems it for himself or his relatives and friends. But because it is really cheap, and it is the product with the highest profit margin for small air ticket agents, it is booming in the market with low travel frequency but huge quantity.

3, in fact, it is also the idea of finding a "touch porcelain" company. Yes, the experience of air ticket agent saves your inquiry time.

Generally speaking, since it is a market with poor information, just ask the rules for the use of air tickets when you are lucky.

# Summary, it is still a matter of time cost.

Finally, because international air tickets are actually mainly about turning around, that is, various inspections, and then finding the company with the lowest cost, it is still a matter of time and cost.

Then, for the field of air tickets, perhaps an enterprise integrating information technology is of certain significance. Like my brother George's penguin trip. In addition to being able to check porcelain companies, they also went a lot deeper, such as making the cheapest tickets of several companies into one ticket through various routes. Theoretically, as long as you don't bother, you should be able to book a cheaper ticket from them than anywhere else.

I didn't mean to advertise for them. I just remembered what to say. ?